Dominic Santiago
Dominic Santiago, commonly referred to as "Dom", is a Coalition of Ordered Governments soldier. A seasoned fighter who's positive even in the darkest of hours, Dom freed his best friend Marcus Fenix from Jacinto Maximum Security Prison and recruited him into Delta Squad. His battlefield intensity is rivaled only by his loyalty to Marcus. Dom's friendly and outgoing nature lets him form relationships with factions throughout Sera, including the Stranded. He's always quick with a joke, but Dom's amiability masks an inner conflict that makes the war against the Locust far more personal. Background Dominic Santiago is a Corporal (Gears of War 2) in the Coalition of Ordered Governments and is a seasoned combatant in the war against the Locust. He is best friends with his NCO (Non-Commissioned Officer), Marcus Fenix, and together with Augustus Cole and Damon Baird they make up Delta Squad. Dom has indeed been through much as the Locust-Human War has raged on. He had an on-going quest to find his wife, Maria Santiago, after her disappearance on Emergence Day; this motivates him to establish connections with several local Stranded in Ephyra in order to find information on her whereabouts. He is also a hero from the Pendulum wars and one of the few gears ever to be awarded the Embry Star and live to receive it. History About ten years after Emergence Day, Dom testified in Marcus's favor during his trial, when Marcus was charged for Dereliction of Duty in the face of danger, and was sentenced to death. Dom, however, saved his friend from execution by testifying that day, but Marcus still went to the Jacinto Maximum Security Prison (the Slab). Because of his testimony, Dom lost the trust of many people, and cost him the chance of being promoted by his superiors because they believed he had more loyalty to Marcus than to the COG, even though many respected him for not abandoning his friend. Dom's children and parents were killed in the fighting soon after Emergence Day and his wife disappears a few years later. Thus, the war with the Locust Horde is a personal one for him. Maria Santiago Maria Santiago is Dom's wife. He lost contact with her after Emergence Day and has been searching of any sign of her ever since. During the course of Gears of War 2 Dom steps up his efforts to find his wife, following leads and asking every Stranded they come into contact with if they've seen her in their travels. He eventually discovers that Maria was with a group of Stranded that were captured by the Locust and are being used for slave labour. Horrified, Dom immediately sets off to the slave camp to rescue his wife. Marcus Fenix initially objects to this, wanting to continue on with their mission but Dom convinces him to help after reminding him he did the exact same thing for his father. Dom and Marcus infiltrate the camp and eventually find the pod that contains Maria. Upon opening the pod, Dom, apparently delusional, sees his wife in perfect health. He quickly recovers from this however and is horrified to see Maria is malnourished, badly scarred and has been mentally broken. Dom desperately tries to remind Maria who he is but all she can do is gaze emptily at him, showing absolutely no recognition of who Dom is. Devastated, Dom decides to euthanize, telling her how sorry he is that he couldn't find her in time, and then forces himself to kill Maria to end her suffering. Dom sought revenge after Maria's death, choosing to blast their way into the Nexus rather than sneak in. Synopsis At the beginning of Gears of War 1, Dom rescues his friend when the Locust take over Jacinto Maximum Security Prison, and he helps him escape the jail. Afterwards, Marcus joins Dom in forming Delta Squad. They are ordered to retrieve the Sonic Resonator to deploy in the Locust tunnels. They fight through several parts of Empyra, rescuing the remnants of Alpha Squad (who originally possessed the Resonator) and narrowly survive a brutal Berserker ambush. Marcus is promoted to Sergeant when Lieutenant Kim dies at RAAM's hand, and Dom then offers his assistance in leading the team to Stranded HQ. Upon arriving at the Stranded HQ, Dom calls in a favour he is owed in order to borrow a Junker from Franklin. The Laverne would be used to safely transport Delta Squad to the Lethia Imulsion Facility, where they would deploy the Resonator. Marcus and Dom must leave Cole and Baird behind as added defense for the local Stranded while Dom and Marcus secure the Junker from Chap's Gas Station. They form Delta One, and fight through several waves of attacking Locust, all the while sustaining attacks from the vicious Kryll. They eventually reach the station, and begin to fuel the Junker. When Locust infantry attack the Gas Station, they narrowly escape back to Stranded HQ to pick up Delta Two. After one last massive firefight at the HQ, the combined team finally heads for Lethia Imulsion Facility. The entrance to the factory is blocked, and the team must once again split into their two teams. Upon discovering an entrance, Marcus and Dom travel through the Lambent Wretch infested facility, and head into the underground caverns. After facing many Locust, including a Corpser and several elite Locust known as Theron Guards, they successfully deploy the Resonator, and escape The Hollow in the nick of time. With the Resonator activated, their mission was complete. However, soon after the team makes it outside, they learn that the Resonator has failed. Upon discovering a geobot with massive tunnel data, however, they find that the focal point of the data is Marcus's old house. Dom and the rest of Delta Squad are picked up by King Ravens and transported to East Barricade Academy, the site of Marcus's old home. The team splits up once more, as Cole and Baird stay behind at the Contemporary Fighting Center in order to tend to wounded Gears, so Marcus and Dom go on ahead. After fighting through the defensive posts of many Locust that infested the campus, Dom and Marcus finally reach the house. Delta Two is able to link up, but quickly departs to repair an APC in the back of the house. Once inside, they gather all the information needed and barely escape a massive Brumak onboard the APC. Delta Squad hurries to Timgad Station where the train which carries the Lightmass Bomb will soon pass through. Dom and Marcus board the train, but Baird and Cole reach the train too late. Separated, Delta Two radios that they will wait for King Ravens to pick them up. Delta One receives intel saying that the bomb is at the front of the train and that they must start heading there now. As the lone pair heads to the front of the train in order to activate the bomb, they are confronted with yet another Berserker, Locust Reavers, and Lambent Wretches. At the front of the train, they encounter General RAAM guarding the Lightmass Bomb. Dom lays down suppressing fire, while a King Raven provides air support and Marcus takes pot shots at the general. Marcus loads the targeting data and deploys the Lightmass Bomb into the tunnels, narrowly escaping as the bomb detonates. The bomb annihilates multitudes of Locust, scoring a much-needed victory for the humans. Dom jumps onto the King Raven and is just barely able to pull Marcus onboard, with the help of Colonel Hoffman. Appearances and Merchandise Gears of War 1, Campaign, From Beginning to End. Gears of War 1, Multiplayer Character (and Co-op). Gears of War 2, Campaign, From Beginning to End Gears of War 2, Multiplayer Character (And co-op). Gears of War Action Figures, shipped with a Lancer Rifle and Boltok pistol Gears of War:Aspho Fields Novel Gears Of War: Statue: Dom Santiago (Bronze Effect) Gears Of War: Statue: Dom Santiago (Platinum Effect) Trivia *Dominic carries a combat knife attached to his chest armor, though he only uses it in the Gears of War novel. The same knife he showed Maria after passing his commando training. *Dominic is age 33 at the time when Gears of War occurs. *In Gears of War 2, Dom does not keep his pistol at his side like all other characters. Instead, he keeps it in a holster on his chest. This does not affect the gameplay of his character model at all. *In honor of Carlos, Dom named one of his sons Benedicto, which was Carlos' middle name. *Dominic hates being in waters as you can see in Act 4 of Gears of War 2. *In the Gears novel, it is mentioned in a flashback that Dom got Maria pregnant at sixteen, which prompted them to get married. As Dom fought in Aspho Fields, she had her second child, a girl, just a few weeks before Dom turned eighteen. Dom stated that this did not mess up his life at all, only accelerated it a few years: he always planned on marrying Maria. *Has a tattoo with the words "Maria" on his right arm. *Dom is apparently a big fan of Cole,as he asks Cole many questions and the two became fast friends *Dominic Santiago may be a reference to the country Santo Domingo Notable Quotes =References= Category:Characters Category:COG Category:Gear Soldier Category:Pendulum Wars veterans Category:Males